Vancouver Canucks prospect Olli Juolevi underwent knee surgery on Tuesday and will miss the remainder of the 2018-19 season, the team announced.

The defenseman is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp.

The Canucks medical staff determined that surgery was the best option for the 20-year-old's long-term health.

Juolevi was selected fifth overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. He has yet to make his NHL debut, but has 13 points in 18 games with the AHL's Utica Comets this season.

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Philadelphia Flyers forward Jori Lehtera is scheduled to appear in court in January - a specific date has not yet been announced - for his alleged involvement in a Finnish drug ring, according to Sam Carchidi of The Philadephia Inquirer.

Lehtera is reportedly not one of the main suspects in the case, which will begin trial on Dec. 31.

It's unknown if he will miss any time with the Flyers.

The 30-year-old denied any involvement with the cocaine ring in September.

Lehtera has suited up for 24 games this season, recording one goal and two assists.

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After William Nylander's well-documented holdout to begin the year, he's experienced when it comes to contract negotiations, so much so that the Toronto Maple Leafs winger is offering advice to fellow teammates and pending restricted free agents Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

"Just get it done before the season starts," Nylander said to TSN's Gino Reda when asked if he had any words of wisdom. "That's probably the one thing you'd want, to get it out of the way."

Matthews and Marner are both restricted free agents at the end of this season and could find themselves in similar contract negotiations as Nylander if they don't take the Swede's advice.

Nylander missed the Leafs' first 28 games and only has two assists in five contests since returning. He admitted that it'll take a bit longer to feel like his old self.

"Probably another couple more games," Nylander said, according to Reda. "So another week, and I'll feel 100 percent."

The 22-year-old signed a six-year, $45-million deal on Dec. 1 after posting two straight 61-point campaigns.

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After William Nylander's well-documented holdout to begin the year, he's experienced when it comes to contract negotiations, so much so that the Toronto Maple Leafs winger is offering advice to fellow teammates and pending restricted free agents Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

"Just get it done before the season starts," Nylander said to TSN's Gino Reda when asked if he had any words of wisdom. "That's probably the one thing you'd want, to get it out of the way."

Matthews and Marner are both restricted free agents at the end of this season and could find themselves in similar contract negotiations as Nylander if they don't take the Swede's advice.

Nylander missed the Leafs' first 28 games and only has two assists in five contests since returning. He admitted that it'll take a bit longer to feel like his old self.

"Probably another couple more games," Nylander said, according to Reda. "So another week, and I'll feel 100 percent."

The 22-year-old signed a six-year, $45-million deal on Dec. 1 after posting two straight 61-point campaigns.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

After William Nylander's well-documented holdout to begin the year, he's experienced when it comes to contract negotiations, so much so that the Toronto Maple Leafs winger is offering advice to fellow teammates and pending restricted free agents Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

"Just get it done before the season starts," Nylander said to TSN's Gino Reda when asked if he had any words of wisdom. "That's probably the one thing you'd want, to get it out of the way."

Matthews and Marner are both restricted free agents at the end of this season and could find themselves in similar contract negotiations as Nylander if they don't take the Swede's advice.

Nylander missed the Leafs' first 28 games and only has two assists in five contests since returning. He admitted that it'll take a bit longer to feel like his old self.

"Probably another couple more games," Nylander said, according to Reda. "So another week, and I'll feel 100 percent."

The 22-year-old signed a six-year, $45-million deal on Dec. 1 after posting two straight 61-point campaigns.

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The Philadelphia Flyers have denied a report that head coach Dave Hakstol has been fired and Joel Quenneville hired to be the team's new bench boss, with a spokesperson telling Sam Carchidi of The Inquirer that the organization had "nothing new to report."

Sources told Dave Isaac of the Courier Post on Sunday that the team had decided to move on from Hakstol and turn to the former Blackhawks coach to run the team.

Quenneville told Andy Strickland of FOX Sports Midwest shortly after that the report that he'd accepted the job wasn't true.

Hakstol is in his fourth season with the Flyers and has compiled a 134-101-42 record in 277 games. Under Hakstol, the Flyers have reached the postseason twice - last season and in 2015-16. They were dismissed in the first round in six games each time.

It's not been an easy go for the Flyers in December. They are 2-3-2 in seven games and are returning home after going 0-3-1 during a swing through Western Canada.

The club abruptly fired general manager Ron Hextall in late November and later replaced him with Chuck Fletcher. Since Hextall's dismissal, the Flyers have dropped six of their past eight games.

The club currently finds itself in last place in the Eastern Conference with 28 points in through 31 games.

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The Calgary Flames made a series of roster moves Sunday, removing forward Mikael Backlund from the injured reserve and recalling forward Kerby Rychel from the AHL's Stockton Heat, the team announced.

In corresponding changes, the Flames reassigned goaltender Jon Gillies and forward Andrew Mangiapane to Stockton.

Gillies' demotion indicates netminder Mike Smith may no longer be sidelined with an injury he sustained against the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 12.

Backlund missed the last four games with a concussion. He's notched 17 points in 29 contests this season.

Rychel has yet to make his debut with the Flames. He's scored 13 goals and added eight helpers in 25 AHL games this season after spending last year in the Montreal Canadiens' organization.

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Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green will be out three-to-five weeks with a lower-body injury, head coach Jeff Blashill said Friday.

Filip Hronek has been called up from the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins to replace Green on Detroit's back end.

Green logged 15 minutes of ice time in the Red Wings' 6-2 loss against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. He missed the first nine games of the season with a virus.

Hronek, considered one of the Wings' top prospects, has 18 points in 20 games for the Griffins. The 21-year-old blue-liner made six appearances for Detroit earlier this season.

The Red Wings take on the Ottawa Senators at home Friday night.

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Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will return to the crease for Thursday night's tilt against the Toronto Maple Leafs, head coach Jon Cooper confirmed after the team's morning skate.

The Bolts netminder missed the last 14 games with a broken foot, an injury he sustained during a November practice.

Tampa Bay went 12-2 in his absence and has won seven straight games. It holds the best record in the NHL.

Before his injury, Vasilevskiy started 13 times for the Lightning, posting a 9-3-1 record with a .927 save percentage.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets suffered an uninspiring 4-0 loss at home to their division rival Washington Capitals on Saturday, and two days later, head coach John Tortorella is still fuming.

"I'm embarrassed as the coach of this team," Tortorella told reporters after Monday's hour-long practice, according to The Atheltic's Aaron Portzline. "I missed something along the way. I'm part of it also. I'm embarrassed that we embarrassed our organization."

The Jackets' effort came two games after they let a 4-1 lead slip away to the Calgary Flames, a contest they eventually lost 9-6.

"It was disgusting," Torts added when asked if the Blue Jackets' struggles looked like a lack of passion. "After our last home game, that debacle, 9-6 (to Calgary on Tuesday), to show up on a Saturday night for first-place seeding, against a team that knocked us out of the playoffs, in front of a full house, it's embarrassing."

Columbus boasts one of the worst home-ice records in the Eastern Conference this season, going 7-6-1 at Nationwide Arena.

"We're trying to get this into a place, into a hockey town. You're going to do shit that way. That has to stop," Tortorella said.

The Blue Jackets sit three points behind the Capitals for top spot in the Metropolitan division. They host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

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